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Ti P s Share a tip, a useful trick, or a great sewing or embellishing resource. Send details, sketches, photos, or samples (if you like) to: Tips, PO Box 5506, Newtown, CT 06470-5506; or via e-mail: th@taunton.com. Be sure to include a phone number in case we have a question. We'll pay for each item we publish. Threads Fee, fie, faux piping Here's a simple designer detail that creates the look of piping along an edge without the need to follow the complex steps required for installing "regulation" piping. I often use this informal piping on pockets, collars, hems, and slits. It makes a great accent, especially if you use a contrasting color for the piping to emphasize the garment's design lines. To create faux piping, you must forget the rule we all learned about pressing facings completely under and out of sight. In this technique, you'll roll the faCing out so it shows. Here's how: When sewing the seam to be piped, reduce the facing's seam allowance slightly (about � to 1\ in.), as you see in step 1 in the drawing below. Clip and grade the seam as needed, then press the seam allowance toward the body of the garment away from the facing (as FAUX PIPING 'la in·}- %in. , Facing, WS 1. 18 Reduce facing's seam allowance to % in. Garment, RS """ Facing, WS -'" 3. Fold facing out to slightly show. TH READS / 2. Grade and press allowances away from facing. shown in step 2), instead of toward the facing as you normally would. Next, create a fold � to 1\ in. away from the seam into the faCing piece (step 3). Pressing is usually all that's need- ed to hold the faCing in position. But don't try to press it into perfect alignment, because faux piping takes on a speCial charm when it's somewhat irregular, curvy, and uneven. (If you want added security to hold the edge in place, stitch in the ditch, as in step 4.) -Diane Ericson, Carmel, CA Big and tall-sized worktables Turn any table into a cutting or layout surface of the perfect height by placing a one-gallon paint can under each leg (the paint cans may be empty, full, or partially full). For a class or a large project, a PingPong table is ideal (eight cans may be required). This little tip can save you endless hours of backs train while cutting or assembling proj- ects. And when the table is needed for another use, one person can easily remove the cans by quickly lifting the table and scooting the cans with the foot. -Helen M. Schmidt, Brooks, AB, Canada Tie one on I have a supply of top-quality patterned silks already cut on the bias, which I "shop" when I need an elegant finishing touch for a neckline and armholes: silk neckties that my husband no longer wears. These fabrics make great bias trim, which adds polish to scoop or jewel necklines and armholes. Check closets for good-looking 4. Stitch in the ditch. ties (or try thrift shops or outlet stores). Select a tie that works well with your project's fashion fabric, remove all the stitches, open it up, and cut strips from the bias fabric. Stretch and sew it onto the neckline or armholes for a nice look that's easy to accomplish. -Betty Dorfan, Houston, TX Easier needle threading This method for threading a sewing-machine needle may be an oldie that I just discovered, but I find it so fast and easy that I no longer bother to look for the needle threader. Clip the end of the thread so you have a clean cut, and raise the sewing-machine needle to its highest position. Place the nail of your right thumb directly behind the eye of the needle. Thread the needle with your left hand (even right-handers) by essentially pressing the tip of the thread against the eye, which is covered by your thumbnail. away, the thread pushes through the eye more easily than with the typical threading process, because As it has no place else to go. I was skeptical about this method at first, but it works great. -Mildred Bowles, Framingham, MA Pattern weights with appeal Pattern weights are a wonderfully useful invention, but why not create your own lovely collection by gathering "weights" on visits to rivers and beaches? Mine are rocks and shells, smooth and rough. Some are round, some long and narrow, and some triangular or crescentshaped. The textures and shapes please my hands while I use them. And when not in use, they please my eyes, nestled in their basket. -Trish Randall, Tacoma, WA you pull your thumb j .g c